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OCEANIA-OFC NEWS

April 9, 2003 Big Guns continue to dominate Oceania Tournament by Jeremy Ruane Australia and New Zealand continued their dominance of Oceania at Canberra's Belconnen Soccer Centre on April 9, recording emphatic victories in the latest round of the OFCW World Cup qualifying series. The SWANZ downed the Cook Islands 9-0, with Maia Jackman leading the way with a hat-trick. Simone Ferrara chimed in with two goals, including a penalty. Nicky Smith and Wendi Henderson also found the target, as did Jane Simpson and Terry McCahill, both of whom were scoring for their country for the first time. The Matildas, meanwhile, hit Papua New Guinea for a baker's dozen, April Mann leading the way with four goals in their 13-0 romp. She opened the scoring in the fifth minute, steering home Bryony Duus' low cross, prior to Australia's captain, Cheryl Salisbury, having a goal disallowed for offside. Joanne Peters doubled the Matildas' advantage in the eighteenth minute, after Salisbury and Sacha Wainwright had teamed up superbly on the left, with Salisbury herself heading home on the half-hour, after Danielle Small's shot, following a Wainwright free-kick, had been parried by Papua New Guinea's goalkeeper, Roxanne Komeng. Mann was next to be denied by the offside flag, but swept home her country's fourth goal three minutes before half-time, after a strong run to the byline by Dianne Alagich. The floodgates opened in the second spell, Alagich heading home a Duus corner within a minute of the resumption. Three minutes later, Mann completed her hat-trick, sweeping home Wainwright's superb first-time cross. Mann then chipped Komeng from fifteen yards for her fourth goal - Australia's seventh - and was promptly substituted ... the price of greed!! Her replacement wasted no time in marking her mark on proceedings, Kelly Golebiowski thundering the ball home on the hour mark after sprinting clear, then setting up fellow substitute Heather Garriock for the first goal of her hat-trick a minute later. The roles were reversed in the 66th minute, Golebiowski netting after Garriock had been released down the right by Tanya Rockall, a goal which brought up double figures for the Matildas. The supersubs linked again sixteen minutes from time - Garriock led the celebrations - and after Salisbury had stroked home a penalty following Golebiowski's upending by Judith Michael ten minutes from time, Garriock completed her hat-trick in stoppage time, netting via the post after being slipped through Papua New Guinea's offside trap by Rockall. The action continues on Friday, with the SWANZ encounter with Papua New Guinea kicking off at 6.30pm NZ time, followed by the wooden spoon encounter between Samoa and the Cook Islands.